Adrien opened the door to Chloe's room. Her butler, Jean, presented him with a covered platter.
"Thank you," Adrien said politely as he took the platter.
"Is she ok?" Jean whispered, glancing at the covered platter Adrien was holding.
Adrien hesitated. "She's…" He didn't say anything.
Jean smiled. "Well, if there's someone who knows how to make Chloe happy, it's you. Or her dad buying her a new necklace."
Adrien smiled at the joke before he turned around. Jean closed the door.
Adrien walked to Chloe's bed. The girl was lying in it, smothered in the covers, staring at the TV.
"Was that Jean-Luc Picard?"
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Getting his name wrong? Really Chloe?"
The girl winced. "I mean, I know his name. I just… never bothered to learn his last name. And it's like a joke between us."
Adrien thought about it. "Well, if he's okay with it."
"What's that?"
Adrien smiled as he set the platter on the bed before he removed the cover. "Chocolate covered bananas, mint and chocolate chip ice cream, a plate of honeyed doughnuts and buttered croissants." He walked over to Chloe's fridge to get some water.
Chloe stared at the assortment of deserts. "Your father would get Akumatized if he saw this."
Adrien winked. "Good thing it's going to be our little secret." He climbed into bed next to her. "So… what are we watching."
Chloe pulled out the remote and pointed it at the TV. After a few clicks, she was on her favorite recorded playlist.
"Ladybug's greatest hits?" Adrien asked as he kicked off his shoes.
Chloe hit play.
The two sat in the bed, silently watching a collection of news footage and Ladyblog clips of Ladybug and Chat Noir saving the day while eating food that would have given their fashion-conscious parents heart attacks.
"Do you… do you think I'm a terrible person?"
"No, Chloe."
"But… I do terrible things."
"You also do good things… sometimes. Doesn't that mean you're a good person? I mean, I've done bad things. But I don't think I'm a bad person."
"Ha. Like eating more desserts than your dad would like?"
Adrien didn't answer.
"Is my mom a good person?"
"I don't know your mom."
Chloe paused. "Neither do I."
They watched more clips. Chloe inched closer to Adrien and laid her head on his shoulder.
They reached a short interview, and to Adrien's mild surprise, it was one Chat Noir gave alone after a fight hadn't required his Cataclysm.
"Chat Noir? Do you have any opinions on the Akuma you just fought?" A reporter Adrien didn't remember asked.
Chat made a show of thinking about it. "Hmm… Well, Savage Heart wasn't too much of a hassle. Sure his shockwaves were annoying, but nothing to get broken hearted over." Chat chuckled at his joke.
Adrien smirked.
Chloe rolled her eyes.
"What about what he said about people never changing and that he wasn't worth saving."
Adrien did remember almost dropping his smirk at being asked that.
"He was just feeling guilty." Chat answered. "And being Akumatized made those feelings worse. But Ladybug and I don't believe that there's such a thing as 'not worth saving.'"
Chloe laughed.
"So you didn't laugh at his joke, but you laugh now?" Adrien asked.
Chloe sighed. "Adrien…" She didn't complete her sentence.
A few minutes later as they watched footage of Ladybug fighting a plant based Akuma, Chloe tried again.
"Do you think I'm worth saving?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… if I'm like one of those villains…"
"What? You aren't!"
Chloe stopped. Then she continued. "If I'm like one of those villains, am I worth saving? I mean… I hurt people. And I enjoy it. And I'm not even Akumatized. Maybe…"
"Doesn't that make it worthwhile?"
"What?"
Adrien looked as her. "You can't exactly become better if you don't have something to improve on. And there's something admirable in trying to be better. It's not about what you've done. It's about what you do next. Yes, people may judge you for your history, and it might be a long history, and they may even be right to do so, but if you're genuinely willing to try and be better, well, that's what counts."
Chloe nodded.
As the sky begin to turn red and the sun began to set, Chloe spoke up again. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Adrien watched himself get thrown off camera by a giant man-lizard hybrid. "That's what I'm here for."
/
Adrien arrived at school after Chloe. She was standing on the stairs waiting for him.
"I… I don't know if I can do this," Chloe said.
"Look, you don't have to do anything too horrible," Adrien said, "we're starting small."
"Small," Chloe repeated.
"And don't worry. I'm with you every step of the…"
"Hey Adrien," a familiar voice called out.
Adrien looked at the girl, "Hi Alya."
The dark-skinned girl smiled and waved at him.
"Hi Marinette," Adrien said, addressing the girl hiding behind her friend.
"Oh, uh, hey Adrien," Marinette said, sliding out from behind Alya. And then she did a double take.
Adrien blinked before looking behind him. And then he wilted.
Chloe was glaring at Marinette. Sure she'd done it before, but now there was something new beyond Chloe's usual anger. Like genuine hate.
I… I didn't see that coming, Adrien thought. He put a hand on the blonde's shoulder snapping her attention to him.
Adrien gave her a look.
Chloe seemed to struggle before looking at the two. "Hello Alya. Marinette."
Both girls looked stunned by the clipped greeting. It didn't sound like Chloe remotely meant it, but it was still surprising that she had bothered.
"Hello Chloe," Marinette said, standing her ground. She refused to be cowed by her bully, even if she seemed a bit scarier than normal.
Chloe stared at her for a few more seconds before grabbing Adrien's hand and dragging him into the school.
"See you later," Adrien called out to the two.
Once they got to the class, Sabrina was on Chloe, talking about fashion, make-up and a bunch of other topics Adrien didn't care for.
Fortunately, Chloe was able to slip into the conversation without much hassle.
Adrien gave her a small smile before separating from his childhood friend.
Besides trying to be generally nice, something Plagg had told him would probably not amount to much, they had two goals today. One was entirely on Chloe, but the next was something he could help with.
Both steps probably should have related to Sabrina, but in all honesty, he had no idea what to make of the redhead. She seemed so happy to take Chloe's abuse that Adrien didn't trust her to be a proper receptacle of the new Chloe's attempts at reconciliation. Clearly, the bare minimum would suffice.
And Marinette was out of consideration before he'd even discovered Chloe's amplified animosity for the girl her mother preferred. By Chloe's own admission, she had targeted the girl more frequently than anyone else. And Adrien didn't think throwing her in the deep end would make her swim better when she was still shirking at the touch of water.
No, Chloe's reconciliation would have to start with someone else. Someone she had been mean to, but not so frequently that they would be too suspicious about it.
As he glanced around the class, Adrien was ashamed to admit that he had a lot of options to choose from. He'd witnessed his friend be mean to everyone and had simply let it wash off him.
Maybe I'm too lenient on her, he thought. Then he shook his head, he needed to focus on what he'd do now, not what he'd failed to do in the past.
Now, he thought as he slid into his seat. Who is Chloe going to apologize to?
/
The number of rewrites it took to not get Adrien's speech to not sound like I'm preaching at the audience would probably surprise you. Preaching to you guys is what this section is for.
The joy of discovery writing is finding new natural conflicts you hadn't planned for in the story. Chloe's increased dislike for Marinette was something I had somewhat planned. Addressing Adrien's passivity was not. Let's see where that takes me.
Sabrina might actually be Chloe's greatest obstacle. Because she takes abuse like a champ and Chloe doesn't even have to try. An ideal friend for maintaining your mean girl streak, but too much of a yes-man when you're trying to gauge if you're becoming a better person.
What do you guys think Chloe's step is? And who do you think Adrien is going to approach? Feel free to comment your thoughts.
And check me out on twitter at WriterImmigrant.